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FITCHBURG HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



FITCHBURG PIONEERS 

IN KANSAS. 



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THEIR RECORD: 

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, 

EDUCATIONAL. 



1854 to J 895. 



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HENRY A. GOODRICH. 



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' llOTc tio to rear a wall of men 
®n jFrcc^om's soutbern line." 

— Whittiek. 



FITCHBURG: 

PRINTED HV THE SENTINEI, PRINTING COMPANY. 
1897. 






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FITCH BLIRG PIONEERS IN KANSAS. 

A Paper lead at a Meeting- ol' the Sueiety June 13, iS'.Ki. 
BY HENRY A. GOODKICH. 



By an act of congress approved March 6, 1820, a 
section of this country larger in extent than the original 
thirteen states was forever sealed to freedom. Slavery or 
involuntar}^ servitude, except as a punishment for crime, 
was by this act prohibited in all the territories north of 
36° 30' north latitude. This vast extent of country lying 
midway between the Atlantic and Pacific, in the very 
heart of the United States, was to be forever free from 
the curse of unpaid toil. Slavery was then a recognized 
institution in states where it existed, and was fully pro- 
tected by law. As legally interpreted, the black man had 
no rights which the white man was bound to respect. 
The religion of the slave states taught that slavery was 
a sacred institution of divine origin. 

Alarmed at the rapid growth of the free North, the 
southern states became more and more aggressive, until 
at last it was proposed to annul the sacred compact 
which prohibited the extension of slaver^^ What was 
known as "the crowning act of infam\' " was consumma- 
ted by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the 
passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, May 25, 1854. 
Charles Sumner, in the United States senate, denounced 
this act as a "crime against Kansas," and for his manly 
])rotest was murderously assaulted in the senate chamber. 



2 Fitchburg Pioneers in Kansas. 

Henceforth the dormant sentiment of the North was 
aroused to the highest pitch of indignation. In the great 
conflict which followed between freedom and slaver\% the 
settlement of Kansas was the turning point. It was con- 
ceded by the highest authority that a nation half free 
and half slave could no longer remain tranquil. 

In 1854 the slave power in this country had reached 
its highest limit. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
opened up our vast territories to the possible extension of 
slavery. Kansas was upon the border, and upon its 
actual settlers depended in a great measure the future of 
the nation. History records no grander opportunity for 
a great struggle between right and wrong than was here 
presented. In the events which led to this struggle, 
Worcester county bore a conspicuous part, and in actual 
results the pioneers from Fitchburg must ever be regarded 
as in the forefront of leaders. 

"They crossed the prairies, as of old 
The pilgrims crossed the sea, 
To make the West, as they the East, 
The homestead of the free." 

In the spring of 1854, while the Compromise Act was 
before congress, public meetings were held in different 
parts of the state to protest against its repeal, and to 
consider the wisest means of averting such a calamity in 
the event of its passage. The first meeting, held in Bos- 
ton February 23d of the same year, was composed of 
some of the most influential Tuen in the state without 
distinction of party. This meeting resolved: "That the 
propositions now pending in congress for the repeal of 
the Missouri Compromise have justly filled our commu- 
nity with surprise and alarm, that we protest against 
such repeal, as a deliberate breach of plighted faith of the 
nation, as tending to weaken the claims of our common 
country upon the confidence and affection of its people." 



FitcJiburg Pioneei's in Kansas. 3 

Similar meetings were subsequently held in different parts 
of the commonwealth, and in fact throughout the north- 
ern states, but all to no purpose save to rouse the people 
to a realizing sense of imminent danger. 

On the 3d of May, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was 
signed by Franklin Pierce, then president of the United 
States, and henceforth "squatter sovereignt}' " was to 
control the future of a vast domain. When this news 
was flashed across the wires, bells were tolled in towns 
and cities for what was then considered the death-knell of 
freedom. But there yet remained some stout hearts who 
hoped for better things. Col. S. N. Wood, one of the ear- 
liest settlers in Kansas, has this to say of the brave men 
who sought to avert the calamity : 

"The ])ilgrinis of the Ma_vflowei' sought the wild shores of America, 
that they might be free to worship God in their own way; free to 
believe in religions matters whatever seemed right to their own con- 
science. They sought freedom for themselves, but the pioneers of Kan- 
sas heard the call, which in every age has thrilled the souls of men 
with heroic power. 

"At this critical period, when the hosts of slavery and freedom were 
marshalling for this great and decisive encounter, in their inmost souls 
they heard the divine voice calling for defenders of liberty; and they 
ol)eyed the signal that pointed to Kansas as the great battle ground." 

In anticipation of the emergency so aptly described 
by Mr. Wood, the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society 
was early in the field. Eli Thayer, afterwards a member 
of congress from this district, was the acknowledged 
leader of this great enterprise. He first disclosed his plan 
at a large meeting in <z\t\ hall, Worcester, March 11, 
1854. Here he declared that the time had come to 
organize an opposition that would utterly defeat the 
schemes of selfish men who misrepresented the nation at 
Washington. The plan proposed was o rganized cmig ra- 
tion^ guicled_ and guarded by a responsible business c om- 
panXi wher e^capital should precede the emigrants and 



4 FitcJibnrg Pioneers in Kansas. 

prepare^ the wa ^ fo r their comfor t and prote ction. A pre- 
liminary meeting was held in Worcester earl}^ in April, 
and a convention called at Worcester April 18, 1854, "of 
persons favorable to the establishment of a colony or 
colonies, of New England men in the territories of the 
West." There were present about fifty representatives 
from twenty towns, including a goodly number from 
Fitchburg. Mr. Thayer explained the plans and purposes 
of the proposed Emigrant Aid Society, and a committee 
was chosen to arrange for a second convention early in 
May. In the meantime a charter was obtained from the 
legislature and signed by the governor on the 26th of 
April. The second convention was held in Worcester May 
9. John Milton Earle presided, and Edward Everett 
Hale, Eli Tha3'er and others addressed the meeting. In 
all these preliminary' meetings representatives from Fitch- 
burg took a prominent part. 

In the Worcester Spy, commencing in April, 1854, 
appeared a series of letters headed "Nebraska and Kan- 
sas," dated Fitchburg, Mass., describing the country and 
situation of affairs. These letters continued several weeks, 
and were signed "One who has been there." 

What was being done at the time, and what the feel- 
ing was in this localit\\ may be inferred from a communi- 
cation which appeared in the Fitchburg- Sentinel June 17 
of the same year. After referring to the late convention 
at Worcester, and the objects and purposes of the Massa- 
chusetts Emigrant Aid Society, the writer goes on to say 
that the plan bj- which the company propose to extend 
their aid, is to make arrangements so that whole compa- 
nies may go together at very low rates, and be secure 
from imposition and fraud. Referring to the inducements 
to emigrants going West to settle in Kansas, aside from 
the grand object in question, he says: "From all accounts 
the soil is unequalled in fertility in the wide world ; and 



Fitchbitrg Pioneers in Kansas. 5 

from the testimony of one of our own citizens the cli- 
mate is ver3' agreeable. And now the question comes : 
Shall Kansas become a free and prosperous state, or shall 
its virgin soil be polluted by the blighting, blasting curse 
of American slavery'? The South have violated the sol- 
emn compact which forever excludes slavery in these terri- 
tories. We know no 36° 30' now, nor ever will again. 
The question is now left to the settlers. It is of no use 
to wait for a repeal of the infamous Nebraska bill; 
before this can be efl'ected, Kansas might be admitted as 
a slave state. If then we are to have a 'sciuatters' sov- 
ereignty,' let those squatters be New England men — in 
favor of New England customs and New England institu- 
tions." Such were the sentiments of the early pioneers 
from Fitchburg. 

It was in lulv. 1854. that the first compauY. of east - 
er n emigrants st jLrt^^^^ ff^^ K ansas . The pioneer body w^as 
one of the best representations of New England chtirac- 
ter. They were some thirty in number , under the guid- 
ance of Charles Branscomb. They located on the present 
site of Lawrence. T wo weeks late r a party of sixty t o 
seven t3^ joined_them . with whom were Dr. Charles Robin- 
son and S. C. Pomeroy. Dr. Robinson was at this time 
a practicing physician in Fitchburg, and had an office on 
Main street, in the Kinsman house, next to the Proctor 
house, recently demolished. He was a prominent citizen 
and a member of the school committee, was known as a 
radical reformer, and an enthusiast in whatever he under- 
took. In personal appearance he was tall, well propor- 
tioned and of commanding presence. He had previously 
been in California, was one of the early pioneers in that 
state, and while there was shot through the body when 
trying to vindicate the rights of the settlers to the land, 
and with Col. Fremont leading them against a monster 
monopoly, which was seeking to obtain and control <all 



6 FitcJibnrg Pioneers in Kansas. 

of the public domain. After being shot he was placed on 
board a prison ship and there retained until the people 
had elected him to represent them in the California legis- 
lature. 

Later, during the presidential campaign of 1856, Col. 
Fremont wrote a letter to Robinson, from which the fol- 
lowing is an extract: "I had been thinking and speaking 
of you latterly. The Banks balloting in the house and 
your movements in Kansas had naturally carried my 
mind back to our one hundred and fort\' odd ballots in 
California. We were defeated then; but the contest was 
onh^ an incident in the great struggle, and the victory 
was deferred, not lost. You have carried to another field 
the same principle, with courage and ability to maintain 
it; and I make you my sincere congratulations on your 
success, incomplete so far, but destined in the end to tri- 
umph absolutely." A short time before his death. Gen. 
Fremont said that Charles Robinson, more than any one 
man, kept California from being a slave state, and with- 
out his assistance we should not have secured that desir- 
able result. 

Eli Thayer, in his "Kansas Crusade," thus speaks of 
his first meeting with Dr. Robinson: "It was at one of 
the Chapman Hall meetings in Boston that I first saw 
Charles Robinson (afterwards governor of Kansas), and 
engaged him to act as agent of the Emigrant Aid Com- 
pany. A wiser and more sagacious man for this work 
could not have been found in the borders of the nation. 
By nature and by training he was perfecth'' well equipped 
for the arduous work before him. He was willing, if 
there was need, to die for his principles. In addition to 
such brave devotion to duty, he had the clearest foresight 
and coolest, calmest judgment in determining the course 
of action best adapted to secure the rights of the free 
state settlers." 



Fitchbiirg Pioneers in Ktvisas. 7 

At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
Mr. Amos A. Lawrence of Boston, one of the greatest 
benefactors of Kansas, gave an address, from which the 
following is taken : 

" When Eli Thayer obtained the charter of the New Hngland Emi- 
grant Aid Societj', and began to preach the Kansas Crusade, the organ- 
ization was completed here in Boston, and Dr. Robinson of Fitehburg 
was chosen to be the territorial agent. Charles H. Branscomb took 
charge of the emigrant parties, and S. C. Pomero}' was financial agent. 

"The enthusiasm increased; parties were formed all over the North- 
ern states. The Emigrant Aid Company undertook to give character 
and direction to the whole. This society was to be loyal to the govern- 
ment under all circumstances; it was to support the party of law and 
order, and it was to make Kansas a free state b_v bona tide settlement, 
if at all. Charles Robinson had the requisite qualities to direct the 
movement. He had had great experience in the troul^les in California. 
He was cool, judicious, and entirely devoid of fear, and in every respect 
worthy the confidence reposed in him by the settlers and the societv 
He was obliged to submit to great hardshij) and injustice, chiefly 
through the imbecility of the United States government agents. He was 
imprisoned, his house was burned, and his life often threatened; 3'et he 
never bore arms, nor omitted to do whatever he thcmght to be his 
duty. He sternly held the people to their loyalty to the government, 
against the arguments and example of the 'higher law' men, who were 
alwa\^s armed, who were not real settlers, and who were bent on bring- 
ing about a border war, which they hoped would extend to the older 
states. The policy of the New England Society, carried out by Robin- 
son and those who acted with him in Kansas, was finally successful and 
triumphant." 

Mrs. Sara T. L. Rol^inson, wife of Dr. Robinson, w^is 
a woman of refinement and culture. She was a daughter 
of Hon. Myron Lawrence, an eminent lawyer and promi- 
nent citizen of Belchertown, Mass. She was married and 
first came to Fitehburg to reside in 1851. She was 
among the first of New^ England women in Kansas to 
endure the privations and hardshi])s of jjionecr life, even 
to imprisonment with her husband. While in prison-cani]) 
she wrote a book, published in 185(5, entitled "Kansas, 
its Interior and Exterior Life." In the preface she says: 



8 Fitchbnrg Pioneers in Kansas. 

"Its pages were penned dviring a three-months residence of the 
aiithoi-ess in the United States camp at Lecomj^ton with her husl^and, 
one of the state prisoners. If the bitterness against the 'powers that 
be ' lDetra_vs itself, let the continual claidving of sabres and the deafening 
sound of heavy artiller\- in the daily drills, the outrages hourly com- 
mitted upon peaceable and unarmed men, the news of some friend made 
prisoner, or butchered with a malignitA* more than human, the devasta- 
tion of burning homes, be placed in the balance against a severe judg- 
ment. 'God give us men. A time like this demands strong minds, 
great hearts, true iaith and ready hands; men whom the lust of office 
docs not kill; men whom the spoils of office cannot buy.'" 

In the introduction she describes her early New Eng- 
land home in a prosperous countr^^ town, situated upon 
an elevation commanding an extensive view of the sur- 
rounding country in all directions. Then follows a descrip- 
tion of a settlement in Kansas : 

"The prairie lor miles, with its gentle undulating rolls, lies before 
the eye ; trees are scattered here and there like old orchards, and cattle 
in large numbers are grazing on the hillsides and in the valley, giving 
to all the look of cultivation and home life. It is, indeed, difficult to 
realize that for thousands of years this countr3' has been a waste, uncul- 
tivated and solitary, and that months only have elapsed since the white 
settlers have sought here a home." 

The first few years were indeed perilous times for the 
free-state settlers. Mrs. Robinson, in the closing chapter 
of her book, made an eloquent appeal to the American 
people, no less than a clear, prophetic vision of what has 
since transpired, as the following brief extracts will show : 

"We have fallen ujion evil times in our country's history when it is 
treason to think, to speak a word against the evil of slaver3', or in 
favor of free labor. But in this reign of misrule the president and his 
advisers have failed to note the true effect. The fires of liberty have 
been rekindled in the hearts of our people, and burn in yet brighter 
flame under midnight skies illuminated by their own burning dwellings. 

"That a ])eo])lc are down-trodden is not evidence that they iire sub- 
dued. The crushed energies are gathering strength; and like a strong 
man resting from the heats and toils of the day, the people of Kansas 



FitcJiburg Pioneers in Kansas. 9 

will arise to tlo battle for liberty ; and when the mighty shouts for free- 
dom shall ascend over her hills and prairies, slavery will shrink back 
abashed. Lawrence, the cit}' where the plunderer feasted at the hospita- 
ble table, and Judas-like, Avent out to betray it, will come forth from its 
early bui-ial clothed with 3-et more exceeding beauty. Out of its charred 
and blood-stained ruins will spring the high walls and strong paraj^ets 
of freedom. The sad tragedies in Kansas will be avenged when freedom 
of speech, of the press, and of the person, are made sure b^' the down- 
fall of those now in power, and when the song of the reaper is heard 
again on the prairies, and, instead of the clanking of arms, we see the 
gleam of the plowshare in her peaceful -valleys." 

Heroic woman! She rightly interpreted "the irre- 
pressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces." 

It is forty years since this stirring appeal was writ- 
ten, and Mrs. Robinson is still living in Kansas, activelj'^ 
interested in literary work and historical reminiscences. 
To her the writer of this paper is greatly indebted for 
much valuable information. 

Among the emigrants to Kansas there were some 
forty to fiftj' from Fitchburg. It is perfectly safe to say 
that the same number of people cannot be found in all 
its records who have had more to do with shaping the 
social, political and educational character of Kansas than 
the pioneers from Fitchburg. Among the early residents, 
besides Dr. and Mrs. Robinson, were the Lowes, Farns- 
worths, Hunts, Kimballs, Earls, Farwell, Marshall, Trask, 
Browning, Snow and others — familiar names in Fitchburg 
directories. 

The first territorial elections were bogus affairs. They 
were mainly controlled by armed men, known as border 
ruffians, who rode into the territory, took possession of 
the ballot boxes, made their returns and then went back 
to Missouri. March 30, 1855, Gov. Reeder ordered an 
election for members of the first territorial legislature. 
This was regarded as an important election. The number 
of votes cast was more than twice the entire population. 



10 FitcJibnrg Pioneers in Kansas. 

In Lawrence the number of votes returned was 1034, 
while the number of legal voters was only 369. The 
legal voters were mostly free-state men, and yet the pro- 
slavery candidates were declared elected b}^ a majority 
larger than the whole number recorded on the voting list. 
These facts are taken from the report of the congressional 
committee on Kansas affairs made in 1856. 

On the list of voters in Lawrence at this time were 
several pioneers from Fitchburg, among them George W. 
Hunt, Samuel Kimball, Daniel Lowe, B. G. Livingston, 
William Marshall, Samuel Merrill and Charles Robinson. 

At the next election, December 15, 1855, w^hen the 
vote was taken on the adoption of a constitution, three 
more Fitchburg names, in addition to those above men- 
tioned, appear on the list: George F. Earl, Fred Kimball 
and C. P. Farns worth. George F. Earl went from Fitch- 
burg to Kansas in August, 1854, and was prominent in 
the early pioneer struggles. He was one of the election 
officers, and took an active part in the free-state move- 
ment. In a recent letter from A. D. Searl, who went out 
with Earl, and was his life-long friend, he writes in sub- 
stance as follows: 

"I first met George F. Earl August 29, 1854-. He, like myself, was 
on his way from Massachusetts to Kansas, and being on the same mis- 
sion w^e became warm friends on short acquaintance. We were almost 
constant companions from this time until the close of the rebellion. 
Were members of the first military company organized in the territory 
for protection against invasion. This organization was kept up until 
1861, when nearly all the members enlisted in the United States service. 
Thirty of them afterwards received commissions from the government, 
and served as officers during the great rebellion. No officer in the com- 
mand was more respected or niore faithful to his duty than Capt. 
George F. Earl. No braver or more trusty man figured in the late war, 
or through the Kansas conflict. He knew no such thing as fear, and 
was alwa}\s ready to perform his duty, however difficult or dangerous. 
He was a great favorite of Gov. Robinson, and when the governor 
required a trusty and reliable man for an emergency, he selected Capt. 



FitcJiburg Pioneers in Kansas. 11 

Eai-1. Under direction of Col. Samuel Walker, he drove the team that 
conveyed Gov. Gear^' out of the territorj^ between two days, to save 
his life from the border ruffians. He was at one time sheriff of Doug- 
lass county, and performed the duties of that office with great credit. 
He was afterwards in the Ihiited States signal service, and lost his life 
while in the service." 

Mr. Searl was personally acquainted with most of the 
early pioneers from Fitchburg, and says all of them per- 
formed well their part in making Kansas a free state. 

Frederick Kimball was a victim of border ruffianism ; 
he with Joseph Lowe and Josiah C. Trask lost their lives 
at the time of the infamous Quantrell raid, August 21, 
1863, a full account of which is given in Willis's "War of 
the Rebellion." Kimball was one of the three brothers, 
formerly employed by the Putnam Machine Company, 
who went from Fitchburg with their families, and were 
all most worthy and respectable people — just the mate- 
rial for pioneers in a great cause. 

Josiah C. Trask, a pupil in the Fitchburg high school 
in 1853, was one of the early pioneers. As editor of a 
paper, he was a bright and breezy writer, and an active 
worker in the free-state movement. Rhoda Jeanette, wife 
of J. C. Trask, died at Topeka June 5, 1890. George W. 
Hunt and family were also among the earliest settlers. 
Mr. Hunt went to Kansas in the summer of 1854, return- 
ing to Fitchburg late in the autumn of the same year, 
and in the spring of 1855 conducted a party under the 
auspices of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. 
He, with another contractor, built the large Free State 
Hotel, which afervvards was destroyed by ruthless invad- 
ers. In 1855 he was appointed commissar}^ general of 
the first division of Kansas volunteers. In the spring of 
1856 he again returned to Massachusetts, and in April 
conducted another party to Kansas, including some of 
his own familv. 



12 FitcJibiirg Pioneers in Kansas. 

When Lawrence was sacked and pillaged, May 21, 
1856, and Dr. Robinson's house was burned, Mr. Hunt 
ver3' kindly offered Dr. and Mrs. Robinson a part of his 
house for a temporary home. He died at Lawrence, 
March 25, 1870. Mrs. Hunt lived to be eighty-three 
years of age and died April 11 of the present year. She 
leaves a numerous family of children and grandchildren, 
now residing in Lawrence and vicinity. Emily J., eldest 
daughter of George W. Hunt, went with Dr. Robinson 
and wife in the spring of 1855 and married Hon. Joel 
Grover. Mr. Grover was intimately associated with "Old 
John Brown " of Harper's Ferry fame in the early strug- 
gles in Kansas. 

Rufus G. Farns worth went to Kansas in 1857, but 
came back to Fitchburg during the war and enlisted in 
the Fifty-seventh regiment. Charles W. Hunt went out in 
1856 and took an active part as a young pioneer. He 
and his brother, George A., were often called to assist in 
the defence of their homes and their own lives. One sis- 
ter, Hattie E., was born in Fitchburg Januar}- 9, 1847, 
married a Massachusetts man, and now resides in Kan- 
sas City. Another sister, Caroline M., born in Fitchburg 
in 1851, was a student of the Kansas state university, 
died October 6, 1871. Augusta Hunt married Joseph A. 
Cramer, a prominent man in state affairs, who died in 
1871. She afterwards married George B. Hall, and is 
still living in Kansas. The Hunt family were the most 
numerous of any of the pioneer families from Fitchburg. 
Like the Kimballs, Earls and others, they were distin- 
guished for bravery and good citizenship. 

Dea. John T. Farwell, for man^^ years town clerk of 
Fitchburg, was conducting agent of a party sent out by 
the New England Emigrant Aid Company, March 20, 
1855. There were one hundred and forty-four in this 
party, among the number Willard H. Lowe, who returned 
to Fitchburg and died here January 10, 1886. 



FiicJiburg Pioneers in Kansas. 13 

Charles N. Wilson, brother of the late Joseph S. Wil- 
son, went from here in 1856, preempted a claim in Leav- 
enworth, but afterwards returned to Fitchburg, and died 
here in 1886, the same year as Mr. Lowe. 

Besides those already mentioned, there were among 
the early pioneers from Fitchburg, Albert H. Andrews, 
Henry Bacon, Mrs. Earl, Hattie Earl, John W. Grew and 
wife, Mrs. Abbie Gay, Miss E. M. Gay, Frank Kimball, 
Mr. Ingersoll and wife, William Ingersoll, Mrs. J. G. 
Sands, Henrj^ Sawin, Lucien W. Wallace and Ira S. 
Younglove. Mrs. Grew's maiden name was Mary Earl. 

Lucien W. Wallace was a son of Waldo Wallace, who 
formerly kept a large hardware and grocery store, corner 
of Main and Laurel streets. He went from here to Law- 
rence, Kansas, in September, 1858, from there to Pike's 
Peak in May, 1859, returned to Lawrence in October of 
the same year, and to Fitchburg in August, 1860, died in 
Portland, Ore., August 2, 1892. 

In June, 1856, Albert H. Andrews of this city organ- 
ized a company of sixty men in Chicago to go to Kan- 
sas. W^hile on the way up the Missouri river they were 
intercepted by Missourians, who would not allow them 
to disembark or peaceably enter the territory. Thinking 
discretion the better part of valor, they returned to Illi- 
nois and finally went overland b}' way of Keokuk, Iowa. 

Through the influence of Gen. J. H. Lane, one of the 
first United States senators from Kansas, Maj. Andrews 
was afterwards commissioned in the Nineteenth U. S. In- 
fantry. He served ten years in the regular army, and is 
now an inspector in the Boston custom house, which 
ofiice he has held the past eighteen years. 

Henry Bacon, brother of the veteran railroad engineer, 
Joseph E. Bacon, went out about the same time. He 
never returned, but, like many other young men full of 
heroism and courage, died for Kansas. 



14 FitcJibnrg Pioneers in Kmisas. 

At one time there were three deacons from Fitchburg 
among the pioneers — Dea. Far well, Dea. Lowe and Dea. 
Marshall. Dea. Farwell, at home, was a constant attend- 
ant at church, and was very fond of music. In a letter 
to his son, John A. Farwell, dated May 12, 1855, after 
giving some account of his pioneer life, he writes as fol- 
lows : 

"Last Sabbath we had public worship in a hall of the Emigrant 
Aid Company, and it was quite like a meeting at the East, compared 
with former accommodations. There were no windows in the building, 
and a dry goods box for a pulj^it, and black walnut rough plank for 
seats. We had a choir of about fifteen, with the addition of a melo- 
deon, and a very passable performance on the same, which was quite 
an addition to the exercises. There is some musical talent showing it- 
self already, but it needs considerable cultivation. There appears to be 
a lack of female voices, but presume there will be addition as the city 
increases. 

"I presume that in a few years we shall have quite intelligent and 
interesting congregations, that will not be inferior to many in New^ Eng- 
land. I have become acquainted with quite a number of people who 
came from Worcester and other towns of good old Worcester county, 
and find them to be enterprising and energetic persons, and presume 
most of them will make first-rate free-state men, and will do everything 
possible to keep out the abominable system of slavery from the terri- 
tory." 

Dea. Ivowe and Dea. Marshall, as we have seen, took 
part in the early elections as legal voters, but neither of 
the deacons remained permanently in the state. Under 
date of March 22, 1855, Mr. Marshall wrote a long let- 
ter to his son, then fifteen years of age, giving an inter- 
esting account of his journey to Kansas, and his early 
experience there. Among other incidents he relates that 
he attended the first wedding that ever occurred in Law- 
rence. Through the kindness of his son. Prof. W. I. Mar- 
shall, now of Chicago, we have a copy of this letter. 

Mrs. L. M. Buck, now doing business at 3041/2 Main 
street in this city, spent two years in Kansas, and is 



FitcJibiLvg Pioneers in Kansas. 16 

quite familiar with the social and political features of the 
state, as they appeared twenty years ago. 

Frank H. Snow, formerly principal of the Fitchburg 
high school, has been a resident of Kansas about thirty 
years. He first entered the state university of Lawrence 
as a professor of natural science, and is now chancellor 
of that great institution. 

Anna Hayward, now Mrs. George H. Chapman, went 
out with Prof. Snow in September, 1866, and remained 
there about two j^ears in the family of Gov. Robinson. 
She could hardly be called one of the pioneers, but during 
her brief residence in Kansas she heard much of its tragic 
history, and saw something of its wonderful development. 

Leverett W. Spring, first pastor of the Rollstone 
church in this city, went to Kansas in 1876, and w^as five 
years pastor of the Plymouth church, Lawrence, one of 
the first, if not the oldest church in the state. He was 
afterwards five years professor of English literature in 
Kansas state university, and is now in the chair of Eng- 
lish literature in Williams college, Williamstown, Mass. 

Prof. Spring has written a very interesting book, enti- 
tled "Kansas," published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 
Boston, a copy of which may be found in our public 
library. 

In 1856 William Phillips, special correspondent of the 
New York Tribune, published a book entitled the "Con- 
quest of Kansas." This book is recognized as a fair and 
impartial history of the first two 3'ears' struggle between 
the free-state pioneers and the border ruffians. Phillips 
speaks in high praise of the courage and sagacity of 
Robinson and the free-state leaders. Of Mrs. Robinson he 
says: "While she is a quiet and unassuming lady, she is 
as resolute as she is high-minded and intelligent." 

Andrew H. Reeder was appointed first territorial gov- 
ernor, but as a whole his administration of affairs did 



16 FitcJiburg Pioneers in Kansas. 

not satisfy the slave power at Washington, and he was 
succeeded by Gov. Wilson Shannon. During Shannon's 
administration Col. E. V. Sumner was in command at 
Fort Leavenworth. It will be remembered that it was 
Col. Sumner for whom G. A. R. Post 19 of Fitchburg 
was named. Col. Sumner, although a free-state man, 
was too much of a soldier to take sides other than to 
obey orders. His correspondence with Dr. Robinson 
evinced great confidence in the doctor's influence, and this 
confidence was reciprocated. Sumner was afterwards a 
major-general in the Union arm^^ 

The first territorial legislature, elected as it was by 
armed emissaries from Missouri, adopted the Missouri 
code of laws entire. They enacted a slave code that went 
beyond the model. To aid a fugitive slave was instant 
death, while to express an opinion adverse to slavery 
was a felony with a penalty of five j^ears' imprisonment! 
The whole thing was an outrage without a parallel. 
Worst of all, these outrages were sanctioned by the terri- 
torial oflScers and recognized by the administration at 
Washington. What else could be expected, with Jefferson 
Davis secretary of war? 

Dr. Robinson was first elected provisional governor 
under the Topeka constitution, Januar}^ 15, 1856, after- 
wards arrested by territorial authority and imprisoned at 
Lecompton. His friends were anxious to rescue him, but 
he told them under no circumstances to permit themselves 
to fire upon the army or the flag of our common coun- 
try. Robinson was finally released from imprisonment on 
a $5000 bond, and continued to act as provisional gov- 
ernor. 

The free-state legislature met at Topeka on July 4, 
1857, but was dispersed b3'^ United States troops. It 
came together again in 1858, when the governor advised 
the continuation of the organization, btit did not approve 



FitcJibitrg Pioneers in Kansas. 17 

resistance to the federal authority. An adjournment was 
taken, and that was the end of the Topeka legislature. 

Through all these discouragements the free-state men, 
following the advice of Robinson, did not lose heart. 
They ignored the bogus laws of the pro-slavery legisla- 
ture and maintained a commonwealth within a common- 
wealth. They did not resist the laws, but protested 
against their enforcement. Their motto was, "Let us suf- 
fer wrong if we must, but let us do no wrong." 

"When the time came to repeal the slave code, there 
was no slaver\^ in Kansas. Their course was a master- 
piece of diplomatic generalship. Convention had followed 
convention, election after election was held, and constitu- 
tion after constitution was framed. 

There was the Pawnee legislature, the Topeka legisla- 
ture, the Lecompton territorial government, and the Leav- 
enworth state government, each by turns in full opera- 
tion as far as they were allowed. 

Speaking of the frequent elections at this time, a 
western orator once said: "My fellow-citizens, kind and 
benignant Nature always responds to the habits of men, 
and I now predict that the next generation in Kansas 
will be horn with ballot boxes, so that they can vote 
whenever they take a notion." 

Prof. Spring, in his volume entitled "Kansas," says 
the career of the free-state party under the lead of Gov. 
Robinson, who projected and inspired the whole tactical 
plan of its operations, has no parallel in American history. 

The waves of political excitement began to roll high 
throughout the northern states during the four years 
from 1856 to 1860. In the presidential campaign of 
1860 the slavery question was uppermost in every politi- 
cal discussion. 

Several ineffectual attempts were made before the 
state was admitted into the Union. The final act saw 



18 Fitchbiirg Pioneers in Kansas. 

consummated January 29, 1861. While Kansas was try- 
ing to get into the Union, South Carolina and the rebel- 
lious states were trAnng to get out. Referring to these 
events, the New York Tribune of January 29, 1861, says: 
"The house, yesterday, passed the senate bill for the 
admission of Kansas, which thus becomes the thirty- 
fourth state of the Union and the nineteenth free state. 
The present generation is too near these events to see 
them in their true proportions ; but in the future, in im- 
partial history, the attempt to force slavery upon Kan- 
sas, and the violations of law and order, and of personal 
and political rights that were perpetrated in the attempt, 
will rank among the most outrageous and flagrant acts 
of tyranny in the annals of mankind." 

From the 7th of October, 1854, when Andrew H. 
Reeder was first appointed governor, to the admission of 
Kansas into the Union, there were ten different governors 
or acting governors in the territor3'. Their brief careers 
form an important part of the tragic history of the state 
while under territorial government. 

Gov. Geary gives a graphic picture of the situation as 
he found it. "I reached Kansas," he says, "and entered 
upon the discharge of my official duties in the most 
gloomy hour of her history. Desolation and ruin reigned 
on every hand ; homes and firesides were deserted ; the 
smoke of burning dwellings darkened the atmosphere; 
women and children, driven from their habitations, wan- 
dered over the prairies and among the woodlands, or 
sought refuge and protection among the Indian tribes. 
Such, without exaggeration, was the condition of the ter- 
ritory at the period of my arrival." 

When the time came to squarely elect a governor by 
the people there was no need of a political canvass. 
There was virtually but one man for the place, and that 
one was Charles Robinson, the man who had done more 



FitcJibiirg Pioneers in Kansas. 19 

than any other to make Kansas a free state, the man 
in whose courage and wisdom the people had trusted 
through all these turbulent years. The election occurred 
on the 6th of December, 1859, but owing to the delay in 
admitting Kansas as a state, the oath of office was not 
administered till February 9, 1861. 

Thus it came about that the pioneers from Fitchburg 
furnished the first governor of the new state. While 
Fitchburg has furnished several members of congress, this 
is the first instance where one of her citizens ever rose to 
the position of governor of a state. 

Gov. Robinson, as the war governor, proved an able 
executive. His appointments, both civil and military, 
were seldom subject to adverse criticism. In concluding 
his first message, he said: "While it is the duty of each 
loyal state to see that equal and exact justice is done to 
the citizens of every other state, it is eciually its duty to 
sustain the chief executive of the nation in defending the 
government from foes, whether. from within or without, 
and Kansas, though last and least of the states in the 
Union, will ever be ready to answer the call of her 
country." 

He was probably the first executive to foreshadow 
the policy which the federal authorities ultimately adopted 
in reference to slavery. During his administration, Kan- 
sas is said to have furnished more men, according to her 
population, for the suppression of the rebellion than any 
other state in the Union. At the end of two years he 
retired from the office of governor, but his political career 
was not 3^et ended. He w^as afterwards several times a 
candidate for public office, was elected representative to 
the state legislature in 1872, and to the state senate in 
1876 and 1877. Whatever may be said of his personal 
or political peculiarities, it was always conceded that he 
was a man of marked ability, of unblemished character 
and spotless life. 



20 Fitchbiirg Pioneers iii Kansas. 

The pioneers from Fitchburg were not only leaders in 
the cause of freedom in Kansas, but were also leaders in 
the cause of popular education. Very earl}^ in the settle- 
ment there was a movement towards a college in Law- 
rence — first by the Presbyterians, then by the Episcopa- 
lians, and later by the Congregationalists. These efforts 
were all unsuccessful, and finally the Wyandotte constitu- 
tion, adopted in July, 1859, provided that no religious 
sect or sects should ever control any part of the common 
school or university funds of the state. By the act of 
admission into the Union the Wyandotte constitution 
became the constitution of Kansas. 

Gov. Robinson's interest in the establishment of a 
school for higher education was very early manifested. 
As agent of the Emigrant Aid Society he undertook the 
erection of a school building on the site of the present 
law building of the state university. The work was dis- 
continued on account of a difficulty concerning the title. 
Soon after, Mr. Amos A. Lawrence, for whom the infant 
city was named, set apart a fund of $10,000 for the 
establishment of a college in Lawrence. Robinson being a 
particular friend of Mr. Lawrence, was made one of the 
custodians of this fund. Later on there was a con- 
gressional endowment of 46,000 acres of land for the 
benefit of a state university. The location was to be set- 
tled by the legislature. 

Lav^rence had long been regarded the literary metrop- 
olis of the state, at least by her own citizens, and by 
their efforts and contributions, aided by the Amos Law- 
rence fund, the university was finally located there. Gov. 
and Mrs. Robinson were generous benefactors of the uni- 
versity from the start. Their interest in the institution 
was not confined to gifts of monc}^ or land. They gave 
it time and thought, as well as personal service. The 
governor was for many years a member of the board of 



Fitchburg Pioneers in Kansas. 21 

regents. When the first faculty was chosen he proposed 
the name and secured the election of a young man from 
Fitchburg as professor of natural science. Prof. Frank H. 
Snow entered upon his work in this department, and suc- 
ceeded so well that he was afterwards promoted to the 
chancellorship, the highest place in the university. As 
before stated, Rev. L. W. Spring, formerly of Fitchburg, 
was five years Professor of English Literature in this insti- 
tution. 

• From the date of its organization in 1864 to the 
present time the university has continued to grow and 
prosper. It is claimed that it made as much progress in 
twenty-five years as did Harvard college in the first two 
hundred years of its existence. The faculty' now consists 
of fifty-three members, with about nine hundred students. 
The equipment consists of eight buildings, with an appar- 
atus of instruction valued at $150,000. The university is 
a part of the public school system of Kansas, and is at 
present maintained by an annual appropriation of $100,- 
000 for current expenses. 

Under date of April 21, 1896, Prof Snow w^rites : 
"Gov. Charles Robinson was always closely identified 
with this university, and may be considered, more than 
an}'- other man, its founder. He gave a tract of land, 
consisting of fifty acres, which constitutes our campus. 
He continually aided the institution, not only when a 
member of its board of regents, but at all other times, in 
securing favorable legislation, and in his will he made the 
university the heir to all his property. It is estimated 
that at least $150,000 will be realized from this bequest." 

Verily, the pioneers from Fitchburg have pla3''ed an 
important part in the establishment and maintenance of 
this great institution of learning. 

Gov. Robinson lived many years after the real heat 
and burden of the day were over. It is said of him that 



22 Fitcldntrg Piojtcers in Kansas. 

he was always interesting and interested. The last years 
of his life were passed on his farm near Lawrence, where, 
with his entertaining and accomplished wife, he lived after 
the manner of a prosperous New England farmer till his 
death, which occurred August 17, 1894. 

The Lawrence Gazette of August 23, 1894, had this 
to say of him: "No figure stands out so prominently on 
the pages of Kansas history as that of Charles Robinson, 
who through the struggle of the new territory, was true 
to the cause of freedom, conservative in council, radical 
in action, undaunted in his championship of right and his 
advocacy of a free state, fearless of peril to self, and yet 
through all loyal to the national flag." 

His funeral was the largest ever seen in the city of his 
adoption. The attendance included nearly all the state 
officials and ex-governors. Rev. Dr. Rowland, pastor of 
the Unitarian church in Lawrence, on whose roll of mem- 
bership is the name of Charles Robinson, conducted the 
services and paid a touching tribute to his memory, of 
which the following is an extract: "One by one the pio- 
neers of our beautiful commonwealth pass away. One by 
one the first actors in the Kansas conflict finish their 
work. We give back to the earth to-day our most emi- 
nent citizen. Forty years ago he began his work in Kan- 
sas. It is ended now, except as it lives in institutions 
and continues in the spirit and affection of the people." 

In his later years Robinson became very much inter- 
ested in historical matters. He was president of the 
State Historical Societ}^ previous to his resignation in the 
winter of 1881. In 1892, two years before his death, he 
published a work of nearly five hundred pages, entitled 
"The Kansas Conflict," in which the introductory writer 
says: "Any history of Kansas without Gov. Robinson as 
the prominent figure would l:»c like the play of 'Hamlet' 
with Ihimlet left out." He has an arrav of facts and 



FiicJibiirg Pioneers in Kansas. 23 

information that no other man has, without which any 
history of Kansas would be incomplete. In this work the 
closing chapter reads as follows: "Whatever may be the 
present or future of Kansas, she has done a work for the 
cause of freedom that is her crowning glory. She had an 
opportunity denied everj- other territory and state, and 
well did she improve it. The results of the territorial 
conflict are the inheritance of the state and Union, and 
the handful of pioneers who turned back the dark ways 
of tyranny from Kansas, and sent back slavery' reeling in 
despair, 'to die amid its worshipers,' can well afford to 
rest from their labors, trusting to the present generation 
to see that no harm shall come to the heritage purchased 
by their labor and sufferings." 

It is now thirty-five years since this gigantic struggle 
for freedom ended, and Kansas was admitted as a state. 
The political storm which was raging there from 1854 to 
1860 extended throughout the whole country, and was 
only a prelude to the great war of the rebellion. The free- 
state pioneers, as we have seen, suffered hardships, im- 
prisonment, and in many instances offered up their lives 
in the sacrifice. The pioneers from Fitchl)urg during this 
period were Jictive, aggressive, patient and forbearing. 

Gov. Robinson and his associates, aided by the patri- 
otic impulses of Gov. Reeder, Gov. Geary, and some of 
the other territorial officers, contributed largely- to the 
final solution of the unhappy controversy. After the state 
was admitted into the Union, and the South had taken 
up arms against the federal government, she furnished 
her full quota of men, and stood loyally by the flag. 

During the eleven years, from the arrival of the first 
party of New England emigrants to the surrender of the 
last rebel in arms against the Union, there was in Kansas 
no absolute security against invasion and plunder. One 
hundred and eightv-three citizens of Lawrence were slain 



24 Fitclibiirg Pioneers in Kansas. 

in the Quantrell raid of 1863, including, as before men- 
tioned, three pioneers from Fitchburg. 

The close of the war found the state with a popula- 
tion but little in excess of what it contained when admit- 
ted to the Union. In 1861 it had 107,000 inhabitants, in 
1865 only 140,000. After the war was over its rapid 
increase in population, wealth, internal improvements and 
educational facilities, was unparalleled. The census of 
1890 shows a population of 1,423,000. When it is 
remembered that less than forty years previous this was 
a vast uncultivated territory, inhabited only by savages 
and untamed animals, this wonderful transformation 
seems almost like a fairy tale. 

"The crime against Kansas," and the attempts to 
dissolve the Union by secession, might well be termed the 
confession of guilt and suicide of American slavery. The 
credit, however, of first securing freedom in the territory 
is due to the earnest men and women of New England, 
who, animated by firm and intelligent convictions and 
fearless devotion to a great cause, went there to make it 
their future home. Justice, though sometimes tardy in its 
work, will yet crown with highest honors the memory of 
these brave pioneers, who gave themselves and all they 
had to make their land in very deed "the homestead of 
the free." 

In the great record of events, from the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise to the close of the war of the Re- 
bellion, the heroic deeds and eminent services of the free- 
state settlers fill a most conspicuous place. In the grand 
results which followed, and in view of the prominent part 
taken by her former residents, Fitchburg has abundant 
reason to feel proud of her pioneers in Kansas. 
"Such earnest natures are the fiery pith, 

The compact nucleus 'round which systems grow ; 
Mass after mass becomes inspired therewith, 
And whirls impregnate with the central glow." 



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